Leon James Blood of Waterville, Vermont passed away on August 21, 2017 at the age of 96, after a brief stay at The Manor in Morrisville, Vermont.

Leon “Jim” Blood died of natural causes. He leaves behind his loving wife of 68 years, Virginia Marie (Harris), their 4 children Stephen of Jeffersonville, Richard of Lake Elmore, Nancy Farara of Jeffersonville, and Neal from Charlotte, his sister Lois Southworth of Plymouth, Massachusetts, 8 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, and many loving nieces and nephews.

Born in 1921, son of Leon Holmes and Hortense Aline (Seeley) Blood, Lt. Blood served as a B-17 pilot during World War II, stationed in England, where he flew 16 bombing missions over Germany and occupied France. A card carrying member of the “Caterpillar Club”, he was shot down by German anti-aircraft over France in the Summer of ’44. Sheltered by the French Resistance for a brief period of time, he was captured by the Nazis, and escaped to Switzerland when the train he was on, heading east to German prison camps was strafed by Allied Forces.

After the war, he met his wife Virginia Harris and were married in the summer of 1949. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson College in Potsdam, New York in the spring of 1950, and settled in Massachusetts where they raised their family. He traveled the world extensively, while working for The Foxboro Company, selling and installing industrial control systems, primarily to power plants in developing countries like Brazil and Puerto Rico, as well as western Europe.

Retiring in 1984, he and Virginia settled in the home they loved in Waterville, Vermont, where they both enjoyed the outdoors, cross-country skiing and hiking in the surrounding mountains. They have enjoyed many friends in the area, including Donna Barry who helped the family look after them in their later years.

Funeral services provided by The A.W. Rich Funeral Home Fairfax, VT 05454. A memorial service will be held at the Second Congregational Church in Jeffersonville on Saturday 8/26 at 1:00pm. Inurnment services at the Mountain View Cemetery in Waterville, followed by reception at the Waterville Town Hall at 3:00pm.